Some Final Thoughts on Grammar

Once prized, grammar knowledge is undervalued and underappreciated in the twenty-first century. That’s a shame, because grammatical correctness does much to enhance the effectiveness of business communications. Once you understand why a modifier shouldn’t be misplaced, or how a verb agrees with its subject, or where to use a semicolon, you can be more confident of correctness and thus pay greater attention to the clarity and grace of your writing.

Good writers understand the value of this grammatical confidence. Even if they don’t always remember the technical names of different word types — conjunctive adverbs are not usually popular topics at cocktail parties, after all — skilled writers have at the very least a strong intuitive grasp of the building blocks of the English language.

By improving your own grasp of English and its structures, you will be better equipped to inform and persuade in both writing and speech. Good grammar is a powerful tool, in business and indeed in most of life’s endeavors.